Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, Lindor began playing baseball at an early age, and he moved with his family to Florida when he was 12.

[2][3][4] He began playing baseball at a young age, assisted by his father, who would hit him ground balls from the top of a hill while the younger Lindor stood partway down the slope, attempting to field them.

[5] Lindor's favorite baseball players as a child were all middle infielders: Robbie Alomar, Omar Vizquel, Derek Jeter, Jimmy Rollins and Barry Larkin.

[6] Lindor moved to Central Florida at the age of 12, with his father, stepmother, and youngest sibling, and was enrolled at the Montverde Academy prep school.

He had a full-ride scholarship offer in place with the Florida State Seminoles baseball team but chose to sign with the Indians for $2.9 million in August.

[12] However, only two weeks later the Cangrejeros de Santurce signed him by exploiting a legal loophole declaring that any player that has not been officially contracted within three years after being drafted is considered a free agent.

[13] Lindor began his professional career with the Short-Season A New York-Penn League Mahoning Valley Scrappers during the 2011 season and appeared in four games.

[15] He was assigned to the Lake County Captains of the Class A Midwest League, and named to appear in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game.

[16] In 122 games for Lake County, Lindor had a .257 batting average with six home runs, 42 RBIs, 33 extra-base hits and 27 stolen bases.

[25] He finished the 2015 season with a .313 batting average, 12 home runs, 51 RBIs, 12 stolen bases and 22 doubles in 99 games for the Indians.

[27] In 2016, Lindor finished the season with a .301 batting average, 15 home runs, 78 RBIs, 19 stolen bases, 15 sacrifice flies (leading the majors), and 30 doubles in 158 games for the Indians.

[35] On April 5, 2017, Lindor hit his first career grand slam, doing so against the Texas Rangers, as the Indians won 9−6 and swept the season-opening series.

[36] On July 22, 2017, Lindor hit his first career walk-off home run in the 10th inning versus the Toronto Blue Jays for a 2−1 victory.

[37] In Game 2 of the 2017 AL Division Series against the New York Yankees, Lindor became the third shortstop in major league history to hit a grand slam in the postseason.

On June 1, he again homered twice and doubled twice versus Minnesota, including hitting the game-winning home run in the eighth inning.

He became the fourth major leaguer in history to produce at least two doubles and two home runs in a single game twice in one season, following Rafael Palmeiro (1993), Jim Edmonds (2003), and Adrián Beltré (2007).

He became the second shortstop in the franchise history to drive in seven runs in a game, following Chico Carrasquel versus the Kansas City Athletics on April 26, 1956.

Outside of Lindor, the rest of the team batted .144 in the three-game sweep and bowed out of the playoffs in the first round for the second year in a row.

[56] On January 7, 2021, the Indians traded Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the New York Mets for Amed Rosario, Andrés Giménez, Josh Wolf, and Isaiah Greene.

[72] On June 27, 2023, during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Lindor hit his 200th career home run, off of pitcher Julio Teherán.

He became the fourth player in Mets history to accomplish the feat joining Darryl Strawberry, Howard Johnson, and David Wright.

[77][78] After a slow start to the season, batting with a slash line of .197/.280/.359 in April, new manager Carlos Mendoza moved Lindor to the leadoff spot in the lineup on May 18.

[83] He also stole his 26th base on the same day, making Lindor one of three players with multiple seasons of at least 30 home runs and 25 steals, joining Howard Johnson and Darryl Strawberry.

[84] On September 13, Lindor exited the game in the 7th inning against the Philadelphia Phillies due to lower back pain after an awkward slide at second base, and was unable to play the next day.

[89] He became the third player, after Jim Thome and Shane Victorino, to hit two grand slams in the postseason, having previously done so in Game 2 of the 2017 AL Division Series.

In the postseason, Mets fans, during home games at Citi Field, serenaded him during his at bats by singing the first few lines of the song.

[94][95] He was also voted a National League MVP finalist, alongside Shohei Ohtani and Ketel Marte, for the first time in his career.

[104] Lindor also ran out an inside-the-park home run in 15.7 seconds to secure a win against the Dominican Republic, a victory which ensured Puerto Rico's advancement to the quarterfinals and qualification for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.